Tag Archives: praise

Our Personal Altar

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I wrote this in 2012.  By his Grace, my wanderings have brought me back to the spectacular.   May The souls of my brothers find cool water here.

Picture borrowed from http://www.westhighlandbaptistchurch.com/
Jesus, my God and King.  I stop here to lay a white stone on the top of my altar of life.  As a child I started this altar with little balls of mud I rolled in my hands as I encountered the truth of Your Holy ways.  Each little ball  represented a firm truth that was only perceived, not yet learned to live out in my ways.  But each one gave you Glory for Your perfect teachings.

Next came the smooth little pebbles I found on the edge of the River of Life which you took me to go see from time to time.  You let me drink from the edge as was wise according to Your endless wisdom.  Then you drove me back to where You found me to have advanced.  In this You watched to see what I would do with what You had given.

Then You drove me to the edges of that vast desert of life among men.  Walking out a half day’s journey, I received what you offered to prove my heart.  Dryness, loneliness, stark reality appeared before me as a living image of the relationships between man and man, and God and man.  Jagged rocks began to be placed on this altar of Glory to You.

You gave me strength I did have.  You gave the strength of Sampson from time to time.  And I placed immense boulders on the altar as You brought me to them in “The Way”.  You did not let me go around them.  Rather You bid me pick them up and stack them for Your Glory.  Amazement and worship filled me as each bolder of trouble was removed and placed on this Holy testimony to Your eternal love.

And now I reach in my pocket and pull out a smooth white stone.  With loving fingers I place it atop the great and growing pile of worship to You.  Through prayer I let it go to see where it will rest.  Little noises come to my ears as it finds its way to rest amid this pile of testimony.  And I watch it disappear into the pile.  As it became Yours, it now is hidden from sight.  Only You know where it now lay.  And all the more is Your Glory.  For You will testify that it has been laid within the altar which can never be torn down.

Glory is Yours!  For You see what we cannot.  Even the understanding You give us finds its place in our heart.  We perceive where You placed it.  Yet, even as we perceive it the understanding disappears into the man You are causing us to become.  Only You know where it lay.  And on the day You cause us to appear before You, You will expose each response to what You have done.  All Glory is Yours.  And this will be so forever.

These words are Yours.  They come from a servant You have blessed with life.  I testify to man.  But You see the testimony that even Your servant cannot perceive.  Thus all Glory is Yours Forever; and that to the Glory of Your Father who Lives in unapproachable light!  You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God, are worthy of every possible good word.  May all who call on Your Holy Name do so with a trembling soul.  For You are given Immense Beauty from the God of all things.  You are worthy!  And Your worth is stamped with the approval of the Father of Life.  Amen!

Metamorphosis

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The Lord came to his field of flowers on one beautiful spring morning.  There he saw that a thistle had grown up and was about to spread his malicious seed.  So he reached out his will and transformed the thistle to a flower.

No more malicious seeds to cast about, the thistle took note of his changed appearance.  The Lord said to him, “See how I have had mercy on you.  I had no intention to pluck you from the ground.  But I have made you as one of these, that I may have pleasure in your life”.

With his Newfound body the thistle returned his most excellent thanks.  For 3 days he worshipped the Lord who gave him the best of purpose.

On the morning of the fourth day he gathered his mind to look about him.  After his 3 days of thanks, he expected to hear “Amen” from all the flowers about him.  To his astonishment, the flowers simply swayed in the breeze.  They spent their time soaking in the richest God had provided.  But they would only, now and then, whisper a word of thanks.  But how loudly they praised one another for their beauty.

How should the thistle respond to his new-found brothers?

The Rocks Will Cry Out

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I wake to consider the things of the Living God’s Holy Son.  No matter where I look among the things of God’s Holy wisdom, I find no fault.  Yet why should this amaze me?

To the things of man I look, and I find no righteous faithfulness.  And isn’t this the cause of my amazement?

Consistency abides in the Living God, toward life and all things good.  Consistency abides in the camp of Man’s horror, toward rebellion and all things wicked.

What has God done but we should despise him so?  What has Man accomplished that we should revere him in fear? 

How is it that the people who call themselves Christians suppress the beauty of the One who offers them life; those who give God praise in secret yet seal their mouth when they walk among the dead.

“I have riches”, they say.  The faithfulness of God in his promise is that sure, yes.  But don’t the rocks along the Way of Glory also have the blessing of God to lay unmolested?  There they are lay, prepared to do his will. And surely if the people had not given praise to the Living God’s Holy Son, the rocks themselves would have cried out the words.  Are we no better than rocks strewn along the path of life?  Are we like rocks which adorn a valley of death, fruitless and simply a nuisance ( dressings which mark the barren land).

“If God will touch us, we will serve him.  If God will drive back the wicked we will speak and walk among them.  If he will drive them back beyond a stone’s throw, we will proclaim the words of life.  As long as there is no threat we will be brave.  Yet if he will not cause the wicked to recede, we will continue to praise him in secret.  I will leave the fearsome work to those who desire to die.”  Is this what we say by our actions?  Will not God protect those the march ahead in faith?

But clean yourself.  Primp and prune your feathers.  Lining every hair in its proper place.  let every thread of clothing be presentable and immaculate.  Let your life be dressed with all the things that cause Man to nod in appreciation.  If you hide the Light of Christ,  you are no different than the rocks along the Way. 

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Is it too much to ask? 

Is it unjust to require us to join Jesus in his suffering?

Is the shame of righteousness too much to bear? 

Is the Cross of Christ too heavy to share? 

Then what can possibly be our lot? 

When we appear before He by whose Blood we are bought?

Hope and Change

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“To the stars and beyond!”
How the worthless is praised.
On display before all –
With mindless eyes glazed.

Prayers by the billions
To the singers of song.
Certainly,
To these ones,
Prayer belongs?

The one who offers
Profitless words
Receives the greatest praise.
While the profit of Men
Is spent . . .
Futilely filling their days

Where is understanding?
Did wisdom go and hide?
Perhaps
A thrashing in the night,
Was missed,
As …………………
Wisdom died.

Did the Morning Sun change color?
Does the grass grow from the sky?
Does the wind secrete from below the ground?
Then why is wisdom not to be found?

The Knowledge of ancient ones,
Lay abandoned
On the ground.
Lifeless words have
Taken “PLACE”
There!:
Gilded chants surround.

What gives them right
To change “What Is”
To an empty promise of Man?
What gives them right
To praise the ones
Who despise
THE GREAT
“I AM”?

Release

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If you are in Christ, your sins are like a corpse that lays exposed on the ground.  They are detestable and grotesque.  But they can do you no more harm than a dead body.  Turn away from them and do not fear them.

When temptations come, remember your release.  They are no more then a band of fog or a mist that comes before your eyes.  Pass through them they have no power over you anymore.

What do you owe the Lord Jesus for such a glorious release?  You simply owe him everything.  You owe him all your fears.  You owe him absolute allegiance.  You owe him adoration, praise, and thanks.  You owe him your very life.

If you busy yourself with a love for Jesus, you will have victory over the things that used to defeat you. 

The inverse of all these things is also true.  But we are not like those who, once released from bondage in Egypt, complained and desire to go back.  Instead, we are a new nation of peoples.  Our bodies will not litter the way to the promised land.  We will love him with all our heart and arrive set free.

A Word From My Flesh

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As I stand and praise God, receiving majestic revelation I am lost in the beauty of eternity.

Then a shadow catches my attention.  Someone has come, begging to be heard.

I turn to look.  It is my flesh!

With his mouth held open in awe, he speaks to me.

“Don’t you realize that what you are doing and saying is insane?”

I look down at him, and who can explain the look on my face?  What reply can he possibly expect?  What reply lends credence to my incredulity?  I speak the only words appropriate to the moment.

“Don’t you realize that you don’t understand what sanity is?”